Telephone-index.



F. w. coLY. TELEPHONE INDEX.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I6, 1917- Patented 1IIay11,1918.

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FREDERICK VI. COLBY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TELEPHONE-INDEX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1918.

Application led April 16, 1917. Serial No. 162,358.

To all ywhom t may concern."

Be it known that I, FREDERICK lV. CoLnr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Telephone-Indexes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in a telephone index.

The purpose of this novel and useful structure is to provide a device which may present in readily accessible form a large amount of information, data, etc., such, for example, as telephonie addresses of named persons and establishments. And, While the particular construction here shown and described is peculiarly adapted for use with a telephone instrument as a call number index, it is to be understood that its uses may be as widely variant as those mentioned in the prior Patent No. 1,171,838, granted to the inventor hereof upon Which structure, together with those disclosed in pending applications of the same inventor, Serial Numbers 73,065, iiled January 19, i916, and 94,025, filed April 27, 1916, this invention constitutes an improvement,

The general object is to provide a device ot' the character referred to which vmay be inexpensivelyrv manufactured aud which is durable, eiiicient and compact.

)l more specific object is to provide such a .structure with an improved means of fastening the indicia-bearing sheet or strip to the interior rotatable member.

A further object is to provide an improved means for suspending the rotatable member.

Other objects of the invention will more fully appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and Will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

There has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings a selected embodiment for the purpose of illustrating this invention. This embodiment of the present form is adapted for use with the usual type of telephone instrument, but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown, as various changes may be made Within its reasonable scope.

In the drawings,

Figure l is a side elevation of a telephone instrument showing the improved index applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the device; v

Fig. 3 is a section on the line of Fig. 2;

Fig. e is a partial section on the line l--l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 Fig. 2; J

Fig. 6 is a perspective vien of the post:

Fig. 7 is a view of the post disk;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the underside of the spool cap;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the. ribbed spool With its cooperating locking member.

This improved'device is shown as attached to the conventional telephone instrument including a base l and standard 2, and, While this type is shown, it is obvious that it may is a section on the line of readily be secured to and used with other n forms. lt is demountably clamped to the standard 2 by means of a suitable double clamp 3 which at one end embraces the standard and, at its other end, this novel device. sists of a casing et preferably formed of a light sheet metal entailing, from a practical standpoint, the advantages both of great durability and lightness of Weight. This casing has a longitudinal slot 5 which extends the length of the casing. llli'thin this slot 5 is passed an indicia-bearing member which is preferably a piece of sheet material such as paper, or a fabric, one end of which is secured to a member rotatably mounted Within the casing l. This rotatable member, which is termed a spool 6, ispret'erably simi larlj7 formed of a light sheet metal niaterial. This construction permits the inerpensive and relatively simple production of these parts by a stamping process. The indicia-bearing member in this embodiment consists'of a strip 7 of paper.

ln the devices which were the subjectmatter of the earlier applications of this inventor, it was found preferable to emploiv a fabric as the indicia-bearing member for the reason that the Welt, Whichr functioned to hold the inner end of the strip of sheet material in the spool, could be more. easily formed vupon a fabric than upon paper. Herein a novel means of attaching the sheet material to the spool is provided so that more fragile material such as paper may be The improved device primarily conneeaeili a longitudinal interior rib 19 formed by depressing a longitudinal portion of the preferably sheet metal handle, While the handle tube 17 has a correspondingly formed cooperating rib 2O which forms an outwardly presented depression or groove to receive slidably the rib 19 of the handle. The strip is inserted, rolled and held in a manner similar to that in which the inner end of the strip is held bythe spool and its cooperating locking tube. It may be noted that this mode of securing the strip to the spool and to the grasping mea-ns is such that strips may be employed which are not provided with welts, fasteners or clamping means of any type. This is of advantage in that the device may readily be used for the convenient keeping of price lists, announcements and divers advertisements, the strip being ready for use when run olf the presses and cut yto size. As the portion of the paper, or other strip material, emergent from the handle slot, is subjected tofrequent Wear and strain, it has been deemed preferable to form the lips 2l on each side of its longitudinal slot 16. This is easily formed by bending back the Slot edges and thus providing a. substantially flaring opening so that the strip has a smooth surface presented thereto at each slot side.

The spool is rotatably mounted and, while it may be so mounted to rotate in various axial positionswith respect to the upright, it is shown as preferably mounted in the latter position, z'. c., substantially parallel to the position normally assumed by the telephone instrument to which it may be affixed. As before stated the lower end of the spool is provided with a running guiding fit with relation to the casing interior by means of the annular shoulder le of its lower cap. Upon the upper end'of the spool is placed a cap Q2. This cap preferably supports the spool 6 and its tube 9. The side Wall of this cap has a diameter such that it snugly fits over the exterior of the cylindrical spool end. To kassure its retention under all conditions of service the side Wall of the cap is preferably apertured at tWo diametrically opposed points and the end portion of the spool is punched outwardly so that the pro-l jections 23 may extend within the apertures and prevent the removal of the cap. This cap 2:2 is also provided with an annular fiange 24, the extreme diameter of which is slightly less than the interior diameter of the casing dso that a. smooth running guiding t is also afforded at this end of the spool.

This spool cap 29. is directly suspended from, and carried by, a novel rotatable member which comprises a post 25. This post is preferably made from a single piece of metal which can be inexpensively stamped out and bent into the desired form. As

' '26 and the stems 27 and 28.

shown, it is substantially T-shaped in form and is employed in inverted position, i. e., with the head 26 in lowermost position as shown in Fig. 6. The post is made by bend ing the metal upon itself to form the head The stem 28 is preferably made longer than the overlying stem so that its upper end may be bent from the straight dotted line position shown in Fig. 6 into the full line position. This bend portion forms the lap 29 which is inserted in the slot 30 of the disk 3l carried in the spring chamber formed by the casing cap. The post is suspended from this disk, and, because of the angular engagement of the slot 30 and the stein Q8, is rotatably carried thereby.V As the portion of the post which passes through the disk is not in `line with the-axial center of the post, the slot 30 of the disk is preferably cut off center so that concentric rotation of the disk and post may be assured.

The upper, or supporting, cap 22 of the spool is centrally apertured and radiating therefrom are openings. The metal is turned, as shovvn in Fig. 8, inwardly to form 'the integral depending Wings The length of the central aperture and the radieting openings formed by the inwardly turned metalY is such that the head '26 of the post may be passed therethrough and, upon being turned counter-clockwise as in the undersidey view in Fig. 8, the' outer portions of the head of the post Will be engaged by the inner surface of the cap and Will abut against the depending Wings Thus the spool cap 22 not only functions to support the spool from the post but also to cause the torque set up in the post by a spring means constantly to act upon the spool and thus tend to retain the spool so that the strip is held Wound up thereon.

Thispost is rotatably mounted and held under adjustable tension Within the spring chamber formed by the cap 33. Spring tension means are positioned within this chamber to cooperate with the post and thus to govern normally the spool movement. A coiled spring is preferably employed, one end being held in relatively xed position While the other is secured to the rotatable post of the spool. A simple mode of aiiixing the relatively stationary end of the spring is afforded by this construction. As disclosed in this preferred embodiment `the spring Si has secured thereto at the outer end, as by a rivet 35, a complementary spring member 36. This complementary member is preferably Wider than the spring so that a longitudinal portion may be seated in the annular recess 37 formed in the interior of the cap 33 by turning the circular Wall of the cap upon itself. Thus, it may be noted that not only is an annular recess formed but also there is provided aV spool and member slots and between the rib and groove whereby the strip is securely at taclied to the spool.

l. In a device of the class described, a cylindrical Casing, a flexible strip, a spool adapted io have the strip normally Wound thoreabout, a disk rotatably supported in said easing7 above said spool, means for preventing movement of said disk longitudinally or' said easing toward said spool, a rotatable spring-Controlled element supported from said disk, and means on said element to support said spool.

In a device of the class described, a cylindrical easing, a flexible strip, a rotatable spool adapted to have the strip normally Copies of this patent may be obtained for Wound tbereabout, a disk rotatably supported iii said easing, above said spool, means for preventing movement of said disk longitudinally of said casing toward said spool, a rotatable spring-controlled post having an integral portion bent demountably to engage said disk and be thereby supported and also having an integral head, and means on said spool to engage said head so that the spool may be thereby supported and may have its rotation governed by said spring-controlled post.

In testimony Whereoi` I have signed my name to this specification.

FREDERICK W. GOLBY.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

